I am participating in the Multicultural Kid Blogs Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop and I am sharing my review of the book ” Eid Breakfast at Abuela’s “ written by Mariam Saad and illustrated by Chayma Sobby.
Some of my favorite posts from the blog hop :
- Baby Devotions
- All About Time in Spanish – A lo Día de muertos
- Chapchas – A Rattle Made From The Toenails of Goats!
Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15 to October 15 and it celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.
I am not Hispanic nor do I have any Hispanic heritage in my family that I know of. But I decided to participate because I was sent this book ” Eid Breakfast at Abuela’s ” to review by Prolance Publishing.
Story Summary
Join Sofia and her mom and dad who spend Eid – the Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan – with her Mexican grandmother, who is not Muslim but chooses to throw them a festive breakfast which includes traditional Mexican food, decorations, and activities.
The book includes many Spanish words and a glossary as well to introduce the reader to simple words in Spanish and even Arabic.
My Thoughts
The story is relatable
This past summer, we visited my parents in the USA and we happened to be there at the same time as Eid al-adha. We had taken a plane to get to America and then we woke up early on Eid morning to get to Eid prayers at the convention center early. Sofia and her family had done the same to visit her grandmother. Therefore, my kids were excited to have found a story that was similar to theirs.
Instead of eating a home-cooked Eid breakfast, we celebrated at IHOP! It was a first time for my kids, my husband and I to eat there! In the story, Sofia’s grandmother made traditional Mexican food for her family and we were eating a “traditional” halal American breakfast.
I think that this story can be appeal to many Muslim families today, because many families include converts, or are multicultural or interacial.
The bright colors
I will admit I do not know a lot about Hispanic culture, but I found the images about decorations and food to be very colorful. The images reminded me of the tapestry or hats we can often find in an authentic Hispanic restaurant.
Trilingual Text and Dictionary
I enjoyed the text in both Spanish and English. My children tried guessing what the word in Spanish was supposed to be. We were right most of the time, I think because French and Spanish are similar!
I really appreciated having a glossary in three languages. For example, you could replace the text in Spanish with the Arabic and read it that way as well.
Just as Sofia shares what she believes in and explains her values to her non-Muslim cousins as well as singing songs in three languages. My children were doing the same thing with their grandparents or family that we met throughout our vacation. They would sing English nursery rhymes in different languages. I caught them a few times teaching their grandparents some French, Turkish or Arabic words.
This book leaves us with wanting more…
When I saw the pinada in her scrapbook I thought for sure there would be a part of the story involving that. Maybe next time or maybe her family will come and visit her in her home country and share the holiday with her there.
For more information :
Check out Prolance Publishing’s website for more titles and information on where to purchase this book.
To follow along with the blog hop or read previous posts, check out the links below.
We are so excited for our eighth annual Hispanic Heritage Month series! Now through October 15, you’ll find great resources to share Hispanic Heritage with kids, plus you can link up your own posts on Hispanic Heritage! Find even more ideas on our Latin America Pinterest board:September 16 Pura Vida Moms on Multicultural Kid Blogs: Celebrating Latino Culture
September 17 Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes: Julia de Burgos, Puerto Rico’s Most Famous Latina Poet
September 18 Hispanic Mama: Raising Kids to Be Proud of Their Latino Heritage
September 19 Spanish Playground: Spanish Tongue Twisters for Kids
September 20 MommyMaestra: Tito Puente Lesson Plans, Coloring Pages, Crafts, Activities and More
September 23 Kids Spanish Book Club: Five Bilingual Picture Books
September 24 Embracing Diversity: 21 Inspirational Quotes by American Latinos To Uplift & Empower
September 25 el Mundo de Pepita: National Symbols for Each Spanish-Speaking Country
September 26 Little Nómadas: Quesillo Venezolano
September 30 Baby Devotions: Libritos to Grow Your Little One’s Faith, an Interview with Bianca Cerrato
October 1 For the Love of Spanish: All About Time in Spanish with Los Esqueletos
October 2 Tiny Tapping Toes: Toenails of Goats, an Amazing Musical Instrument
October 3 LadydeeLG: Books in Spanish for 8 Year Olds
October 4 Bicultural Familia
October 7 Spanish Mama
October 8 The Multilingual Home
October 9 Bookworms and Owls
October 10 Jeddah Mom
October 11 Pretty Mama Breastfeeding
October 14 Multicultural Kid Blogs
October 15 Maritere Bellas
Don’t miss all of the great posts from previous years as well: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.